


Come here, into my arms

by inochiijo



Category: HoloEN, Hololive, HololiveEN, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crime Fighting, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, I can't decide on relationships yet, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Lovecraftian Monster(s), Mild Blood, Tentacle Monsters, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29765169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inochiijo/pseuds/inochiijo
Summary: おいで、この腕の中。(Come here, into my arms.)Perhaps in their line of work, nothing was meant to be normal. Their job was to protect the citizens, to submit their loyalty to saving each and every good person that walked upon the same dirt that they did.But did that include enemies? Does that include taking away and healing the pains that settled in the problems they've always fought against? Does that include someone whose life was dedicated to killing? Does that include someone who has destroyed innocent lives?Does that include saving Ninomae Ina'nis?
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Mori Calliope/Ninomae Ina'nis/Takanashi Kiara/Watson Amelia (hololive), Gawr Gura/Ninomae Ina'nis, Mori Calliope/Ninomae Ina'nis, Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina'nis/Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia (hololive)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 81





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I've usually only written one shots for HololiveEN and I've never really tried writing a multi-chapter one (I've written for other fandoms but never really a full series for hololive itself lol) and thinking of this kinda au, I decided why not right? I haven't quite decided the solid relationships in this series (aside from iname) so if you have any ideas, perhaps a rare pairing or some sort, then I'd gladly try to take it into account! Anyway, in the tags there are "implied" stuff, although I won't explicitly describe it, it might be briefly mentioned and hinted at but I'll make sure to put the warning there. Another thing, I'm not sure how long this series will be because I'm still debating whether to make this a straight up story or to make kind of a slice-of-life thing? I'm unsure still but with where this is going, it might be a full story with a hint of slice-of-life chapters.
> 
> Anyway, that's enough from me! Hope you enjoy reading, and I apologize if there are any errors or such :)

"P-Please find the one who murdered my husband," the woman cried and it seems she hasn't stopped for quite a while either. The sides of her eyes were puffy and red while the bags under it were as prominent as the scorching sun outside.

"We'll try our best ma'am but please, do remember to rest."

The woman sniffles, rubbing at her eyes which seemed to only irritate her eyes more though it seemed she doesn't notice it, "Th-thank you. I've heard so many things about this agency so please, I trust you, Ame-Amelia?"

"Amelia Watson," she smiles at the woman and offers her another handful of tissues. Although she's trying her best to keep a soft front and act as if everything is as normal as it was with a missing persons case, Amelia had quite the idea of what's going on behind this.

"I see, Amelia Watson," the woman stands up, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, "thank you. I'll get going," she bows, her eyes drooping and Amelia almost feels bad.

The woman adjusts the strap on her shoulder, her fingers padding at the leather material. Although her back is turned towards Amelia, her shoulders were still dangling low, squeezed close to the center of her body, she was still crying.

_She's a good actor, I'll give her that._

"Wait, Miss!" Amelia stands up from her desk.

The woman stills in her spot, turning slowly to face Amelia, "Y-Yes?"

"How about I walk you to your car? Please, I insist."

~

_Still keeping up this façade, hm?_

"You're quite young to be a detective yet your name has grown to become quite the savior these days," the woman flashes Amelia a faint smile, tired and exhausted.

Amelia chuckles, "Is that so? Although I take on a lot of cases, majority of the cases I solve are alongside my subordinates. Without them, my name would mean nothing," she smiles, matching the strides of the woman.

_5'0 and around 120 pounds. Her eyes are tired but she seems to be better - her back is straighter than beforehand and her chest is raising at a constant rate._

_No signs of wounds on her arms, neck or face, but she's limping on her right._

_Her right hand is gloved yet it's over_ _30_ _degrees._

_Her husband's wounds were most prominent on his right side - and they were no ordinary wounds._

_Interesting_.

"Well, there's my ride," the woman offers Amelia a small bow, a faint smile across her face as she waves at the detective. The woman staggers towards the car, slowly fumbling with her bag as she seems to search for her keys.

_She's panicking._

_I found you._

Amelia watches as the woman raises her hand from within her bag and she steps a foot closer towards the car.

She pulls at her tie, feeling the fabric stick to her skin from all the accumulated sweat gathering around it - Amelia so dearly wants to run back into the agency building just for the sake of the air-conditioned comfort.

She internally regrets her decision of not acting on her instincts beforehand.

"I must say," Amelia hums, "You're an exceptional actor."

The woman tenses and her hand is still. She doesn't turn around nor does she say anything.

Amelia pulls the sleeves of her collared shirt to her elbows, loosening her tie carefully and she adjusts her signature hat upon her blonde hair. "You crafted the perfect murder, _almost_."

She narrows her eyes on the woman, studying every breath she lets out, and every twitch and fidget of her limbs. Amelia keeps her hands away from her waist - it's not bad to have a bit of fun, right?

The woman trembles, "I-I don't..."

"Issuing a missing persons request to the police then selfishly giving someone the burden of seeing your husband's corpse - in a such a horrible state that they had to be sent to psychological care," Amelia crosses her arms, "then you put the performance of a lifetime as you sobbed and cried at the sight of crime scene-"

"Excuse me?!" The woman turns around, her eyes burned with fury, feigning offense, but Amelia caught the glimpse of shock flash in her eyes, "He was my husband! Did you not want me to cry-"

"Which was odd considering your makeup then was fresh, no?" Amelia hums, ignoring the woman's poor excuses, and she figures that the woman was starting to break character, "It was almost as if your makeup was put on right before you got to the scene but how could that be when you said you attended a meeting at your office?"

The woman's eyes widened and she opens her mouth but Amelia interrupts her, "Was it to show how utterly heartbroken you were _or_ was it just to make the policemen believe they must comfort the widowed woman?"

Amelia smiles at her silence, "Your husband's wounds were found dead on the right side of his neck, a horrible show of flesh that couldn't be done by an ordinary knife or _human_ for that matter," she pats down the wrinkles on her collared shirt, "And it just so happens that your right hand is gloved even if there's a possible heat wave today."

Although she continues her speech, Amelia doesn't miss the way the woman's hands curl into a tight fist.

"The culprit was said to be a male and, although I don't like conforming to gender stereotypes," Amelia sighs, "The crime scene was well orchestrated and clean enough that it couldn't have been homicide _nor_ could it have been a drunkard male."

The woman grits her teeth, her jaw tightening.

Amelia points to the woman's hand, "And, as useless as this may sound, your beloved ring is gone. Usually widows keep the ring you know, for grieving but-"

"You pesky little detective-" The woman's eyes shone with anger and her once solemn expression was replaced with demonic frustration.

Amelia pushes her heel back, her hand instinctively reaching to her waist in quick motion. Though even with how obvious her intentions was, it seemed that the woman was too blinded by her own frustration that she hadn't noticed it.

"If you hadn't been given the damn case-" the woman growled, "-I would've been free but _no_ , they just had to ask your stupid ensemble to handle this stupid case!"

Amelia keeps her expression sharp, not letting the woman's increasing volume rattle her. Though even if this woman was most probably less than an A-level demon, there was still that nagging thought of making the wrong move and potentially being devoured by a woman in broad daylight.

"So you are a demon," Amelia mutters, "Why couldn't you just go to one of those food banks for demons? Rather than eating the side of your husban-"

"Because it was free!" The woman snarled, "Those stupid food banks only exist to _steal_ money from us and you expect me to fall for that?!"

Amelia sighs, "Technically, they exist to stop demons from stealing _lives_ ," she voices out.

Though it did no justice to calming the woman down - in fact, it probably pissed her off even more.

The next thing Amelia knows is that the woman lunges at her, hands with nails as long and sharp as the typical demons reaching out for her very neck, aiming to strangle it at most.

Internally thanking her training, Amelia is quick to dodge the quick attack as she takes a side step, she takes in a deep breath as she slams her elbow onto the woman's back - just enough force to push her down. Not wanting to be in close proximity, Amelia jumps back, this time her pistol held tightly in her palm.

The woman, yet to admit defeat, pushes off of the concrete floor and takes a large stride in Amelia's direction.

 _Crap_ _I can't shoot her!_

Amelia grits her teeth as she swiftly dodges each and every jab the woman throws at her, countering every attack with a dull punch.

Just as the woman throws another powerful punch, Amelia grabs her fist, twists her arm around and throws the demon onto the ground. She sits on her back, grabbing both the woman's wrists and holding it down.

"Gura!" Amelia grunts, "Now, please?!"

In what seemed like an eternity, a familiar blue sweater falls just before her. Amelia breathes in with relief, thanking whoever is up there that one of her subordinates had at least been around to assist in this arrest.

Gura turns around, jogging at a fair pace towards Amelia, her shark tail swishing left to right, "Woah," she jumps out of the woman's reach, "Feisty one, hm?"

"Grab the needle from my pocket and inject it, hurry," Amelia pants, "Because I'm literally about to faint from the damn heat."

Gura mutters a _Roger that_ and fishes the syringe from within Amelia's pockets, quickly maneuvering around the narrow point. Breathing in, Gura kneels just in front of the woman's neck and she carefully inserts the needle, wincing when she hears the woman lets out a strangled scream before fainting flat against the cold concrete.

"Another demon?" Gura interrupts the silence as she watches Amelia stand up, dusting at her shirt.

"Unfortunately," Amelia sighs, "This is the tenth time this week. Even Calli's been busting her ass off and she's been a former, what, grim reaper?"

Gura crosses her legs as she sits down, staring at the demon laying on the floor, "How are you guys so good at identifying these things. Even I get confused sometimes, their scent is different but still somewhat similar to humans."

Amelia chuckles, grabbing the woman and carrying her steadily, "Years of practice - besides, Calli is better than me anyway. Being a former grim reaper and all that, she's probably escorted more than enough demons to the underworld."

Gura nods, "True true," she absentmindedly jogs alongside Amelia, her hand running up to the woman's forehead, wiping away the sweat, "Wanna go grab some ice cream after this?"

Amelia hums, "Oh? Are you asking me out on a date, Gawr Gura?"

Gura chuckles, "Maybe, maybe. So, do ya?"

"Sure thing," Amelia adjusts her hold against the woman, careful as to not get rid of the effects of the syringe, "After I put this one into it's rightful place."

////

_"You're as capable as more than 100 demons, combined. Your talent is unique, and unique only to you. However, even with your capability, you must remember one thing."_

_"..."_

_"Your existence, your purpose in life, is to kill._ _"_

_"..."_

_"Otherwise, you're as useless as the dust that rests on the streets."_

_"..."_

_"You will obey me, after all, I am your home. I am the only one willing to accept your monstrous talent, Ninomae Ina'nis."_


	2. day in a life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia, Kiara and Gura decide to go on a patrol together while Calli stays in, groaning but also finding a connection between two cases.

"They don't have a specific pattern either."

"So they're just coming out of nowhere?"

Gura twists around her chair, "But isn't it weird though? I mean, even though demons walking around is normal at best, demons that intentionally kill humans are extremely rare, right?"

Amelia nods, "They are, that's why we've been trying to find more on this but there's been nothing," she stretches out her arms, "Calli, you don't happen to know if their locations are in any way related right?"

Calli shakes her head, "Nothing. I even asked Kuso- Kiara to get a bird's eye view but in every place, these rabid demons have been popping out, the locations aren't anything out of the ordinary."

Amelia smirks, "Kusotari, eh?"

"It's Kusotori and stop looking at me like that," Calli grumbles, averting her eyes away from both Gura and Amelia's suspicious looks.

Gura shrugs, "Whatever it is you two got goin on-"

"We've got nothing going on."

"-It sure as hell pretty cute," Gura chuckles, ducking behind her hands as Calli sends her a pointed glare.

Amelia chuckles, "Anyway, why don't we do a little patrol then? Us four, you know, for old times sake?"

Calli raises an eyebrow at her, "Tonight? You want all of us to go on a patrol? Who's going to handle any other requests we might get during that time then?"

"Aren't we practically closed during those hours," Gura hums and it's interesting how she's able to keep her stomach full with _just_ salmon - sometimes Calli has to even remind her to eat other meals considering all the half-shark eats is salmon and just salmon.

"Doesn't matter. Our agency is unlike the police department, we handle cases that are beyond their control," Calli responds.

Amelia shrugs, "But I mean, those are pretty rare don't you think? Aside from all the demon cases, I think it'll be good if we go on a night patrol together."

"- And besides, we can ask the other members to handle it," Gura smiles up at Calli, her cheeks bulging slightly as she speaks through her filled mouth.

Calli rolls her eyes subtly as she runs her thumb across the corner of Gura's mouth, wiping away the stray piece of salmon, Gura chuckles sheepishly as she finishes the last bit of her lunch, "Look, you guys can go if you want, but I'll stay."

Amelia whines, "Aww, c'mon Calli! Don't be a killjoy, please? Kiara's for sure gonna go!"

Calli huffs at the sly inclination but she keeps her stance strong, "It's not that I don't wanna go, it's that I can't go," she pulls her chair back, falling onto it with her arms dangling lazily on the side.

Amelia and Gura share a confused expression though Gura asks first, "Why can't you go?"

"Director asked me to focus on a few things about the accident a few months ago," Calli sighs, pushing herself to sit up straight, opening a small yellow folder that had a hefty amount of forms and reports.

Amelia walks over to Calli's side, stretching her neck over to catch a glimpse of the papers, "But why?"

"Apparently he thinks that this wasn't just some accident on the oil company's part but an actually planned execution," Calli hums, turning the pages of the folder quickly.

Amelia raises an eyebrow, "Hold on, you mean to tell me, Yagoo thinks this isn't some accident? He thinks it's a crime?"

"But the oil in the compartments, as well as all the other explosive prone stuff on the boat, blew up - wasn't there also proof that a worker missed something?" Gura hums as she leans over.

Calli shakes her head, "According to the scene and whatever it is the police said. However, Yagoo is saying that this had to be planned by _someone,_ because on the day of, the ship held one of the highest investors of Japan. It's a reason why there's been a lot of chaos lately surrounding the oil and ship company that held the travel - a lot have been blaming them for that guy's death."

Gura tilts her head slightly, "So someone, whoever they are, planned to kill that rich investor by blowing up the entire thing?"

"Not just that," Amelia says, to which Calli and Gura turn to her, "I mean that can be a possibility - but what's the point in going through all of that? Bringing in, what, like 50 workers into it? I doubt it. This might have been to hit two birds with one stone, kill the investor while taking down the oil company at the same time."

"That can be a possibility," Calli hums. She leans against her palm, her eyes possibly burning the reports as she searches for a clue, perhaps something that can least bring her into a desired direction about the whole incident.

Though no matter how long she stares at the reports, burning her eyes through every paragraph and every detail - even if it was as useless and pointless the detail - Calli ended up with nothing but how there were about 50 people on board and all of them were either dead or declared as missing.

Amelia sighs, patting Calli's shoulder, "Valid excuse," is all she says. Gura nods in agreement and all Calli could do was bury her face in the thick pile of papers.

"Have fun," Calli says, groaning.

Gura shares a sympathetic look with Amelia, smiling softer than she would have had she wanted to tease Calli, "We'll be thinking of you during our patrol!"

Calli throws a lazy thumbs up, before laying her face flat against her desk, her fingers limp against the keyboard.

Amelia chuckles faintly and the two follow each other out the window - Calli so wishes she can tune their conversation out because all she hears are plans of what they're going to eat during the patrol and where they'll start.

Sighing, Calli sends a message over to Kiara, staring at her phone before letting a soft smile grace her features when she sees a heart emoji along with a cheesy, _You can do it, Calli!_

Calli feels a bit of energy surge through her nerves and for a split second she believes she could do just about any work given to her, but one look at the pile of folders and old reports from a few months ago - she feels it all diminish.

****

"It sucks Calli can't come with us today," Amelia sighs, swinging her legs over the ledge.

"Yagoo just had to ask her of all people!" Kiara's lips curve into a pout, leaning over to rest her chin just above her knees.

"Hope she's doing fine," Amelia hums, "Last I checked up on the reports, there was really nothing fishy about that incident. I seriously thought it was just one of those tragedies, you know?"

"I agree," Kiara responds, "I don't understand why Yagoo thinks it was something more than that. I seriously doubt someone would go to those lengths to kill the only person."

Gura shrugs, "You'd be surprised."

Amelia and Kiara look to the shorter girl, eyebrow raised, "What do you mean?" Kiara asks.

"In my long years of living as a half-demon, or whatever it is you call me, I've seen a lot of people do some crazy stuff," Gura hums, she places her two hands behind her, leaning against her palms, "Though maybe not all in one go but I've seen and heard of people committing mass murders."

Kiara shivers at the thought, her face contorting into one of disgust, "Killing people, huh. I could never," she mutters.

"Even in my years as a detective and this agency, I could never imagine killing someone just for the sake of it," Amelia sighs, rubbing at her temples.

Gura nods, "And even as an apex predator, I could never kill a human either."

Amelia snickers, looking back at the shorter girl, "You don't even act like one."

"Hey!" Gura shoots up, crossing her arms as she sends a playful glare at the detective, "Excuse you, I am the _last_ person you'd want to get angry."

Having thought that Amelia would be the only person she'd be up against, Gura's expectations were betrayed as Kiara joins in with a palm over her mouth as if she was trying to cover up her laughter, "Sure Gura, whatever you say," Kiara giggles.

Gura gasps at Kiara, a hand over her heart, "The betrayal!"

Kiara shrugs as she leaps away from Gura's rather playful jabs.

Although Gura was short (Amelia doesn't mention it much though) and has the face of the cutest creature to walk on earth, everyone knew how powerful Gura can be if she actually tried. On land, she's capable of handling herself, capable of sending a few hits before bringing her opponent home with a bruise on each side of their face. It's also convenient that she was short and agile - to which Gura would probably take pride in.

Amelia could only assume that Gura's agility is even better underwater, though Amelia can't exactly say she's seen Gura fight in such a setting - and a part of Amelia wishes it stays that way.

"Hey, why don't we go check the docks?" Amelia hums.

Gura refrains from throwing a light punch at Kiara, "Where the parts of the broken ship are?"

"Yeah," Amelia pushes herself away from the ledge, "Since Calli can't really get out of the office, maybe we can find something that might help her in the investigation, don't you think so?"

Kiara hums, nodding as she slowly processes what Amelia means, "I don't see why not! That way we can help her out!"

Gura shrugs, "I'm in! Besides, at least we don't have to sit here."

Amelia throws the two girls a thumbs up, a wide smile growing on her face.

_Surely Calli wouldn't mind us helping out a bit._

_////_

"Huh?"

Calli rubs her eyes, ignoring the slight sting that followed soon after. She shakes her head, leaning closer to the document as if that would help her clarify what she sees.

"I've never seen this before," she mutters, pulling the bundle of reports towards her.

_Anonymous Male_

_Written Report - interview_

_I'm lucky I wasn't on the ship before it happened. I remember everything was normal. Nothing had seemed off even before guests had arrived - the rest of the ship was in perfect shape. With most of the guests being rich fellas, I'd figure that the shipping company - or whatever - would make sure nothing would go wrong. I remember a few employees saying that they had checked everything at least a thousand times due to their boss. But it was weird though -_

Calli turns the page, eyebrow raised. She feels her heart thump against her chest and her hand practically struggles against the turning of the page.

She swallows the odd spike of anxiety and continues forward.

_\- of all the guests, who were mostly older men with suits, there was a young woman was riding on the ship as well - and she was the only woman. She wasn't accompanied by anyone else but gosh do I remember she was such a beauty. She had this odd robe on and her hair was oddly dark purple - she was gorgeous. She seemed especially young - but with the whole ship exploding, she's probably dead._

"A young woman," Calli hums. She wonders if perhaps that woman may have been a key to this hole of a case.

With all the evidence pointing towards an accident rather than a crime, Calli almost wants to berate the director for placing this case down right on her shoulders. What is he thinking? What could've possibly led to the thought that this was more than a human mistake rather than a human crime?

Calli runs her fingers over her face, sighing as she sinks in her chair.

"Why did he ask me of all people," Calli clicks her tongue, glaring at the stack of papers, "Why couldn't he ask Amelia, instead."

Knowing that this case couldn't possibly be resolved in a mere one midnight, Calli lets the rest of her exhaustion take over. She feels her eyes grow heavy on her, her head slowly tilting back and then hits softly against the top of her chair. There was that tension in the back of her neck but Calli ignores it, not wanting to move from her already comfortable spot.

_"Ten people were killed? And... you saw the crime scene?"_

_"I'll be fine Calli. Working in this agency has been enough for me to grow immune to... interesting scenes."_

_"Still Kiara, make sure you don't let it get to your head."_

_"Awwh, are you worried about me~"_

_"Maybe it already has gotten to your head."_

_"Hey!"_

_"So what does it say on the report?"_

_"Hmm, there was a witness. But all he said was that he saw a woman, with long dark raven hair with some robe, standing at the top of a building right after. But there isn't much to lead on from that since he only said that he saw her standing there - he blinked and she was gone. I don't really think she's our culprit then."_

_"Hm, yeah."_

Calli shoots up from the comfort of her seat. She feels her neck scream at the sudden force but ignores it as she heads straight towards their filing cabinet. Considering that Kiara's case had only been a few months after the ship incident, she's sure that the files hadn't been thrown away completely.

Perhaps abandoned but still there, Calli hopes.

"Wearing a robe. Maybe it's the same woman," Calli mutters, her hands sifting through the bundle of files. She scavenges the reports, specifically looking for that one report about the case Kiara was given - and thankfully it was just tucked away to the very left of the cabinet.

She threw it onto the nearest table, ignoring the stray cabinet as she flipped through the papers, eyes stinging perhaps because of the long hours she's been looking at black ink letters.

_\- she was just standing there, at the top of the building right after the incident. She had this beautiful long hair, and it looked like she was wearing a robe._

Calli took in a sharp breath, "You've conveniently been at the two incidents," she closes the folder, _"Let's just hope you're still alive."_


	3. woman in violet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia, Gura and Kiara explore the docks - and let's just say, Amelia has a rather strange encounter with a very pretty woman.

"Anything Gura?" Amelia looks over the shorter girl's shoulder, peaking to see if there was anything out of place found in the rusty metal parts.

Gura shakes her head, "Nope. It just smells like crap in here," she chuckles as Amelia laughs along with her, who could only pat the shorter girl's hair in response.

"Kiara?" Amelia calls.

Kiara stands up from her side, shrugging as she tiptoes around the sharper stray parts, "Nothing here either. Jokes aside, it does smell kinda bad here," she waves a hand over her nose, her face contorting into one of disgust.

"Smells like when Gura fa-"

"Alright Watson," Gura rolls her eyes, lightly kicking at Amelia's knees, as she nudges the blonde forward.

Amelia laughs in return, with Kiara joining in - though she tries to hide it behind the palm of her hand. Gura could only throw a few playful punches at Amelia before joining in on the fun, despite internally finding a way to get back at the detective ten times more.

"Ima look near the water, maybe I can find a dead body or something," Gura chuckles, wiping away the stray tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She takes a few short strides to the edge of the dock, kneeling as she drags her fingers against the floor, eyes narrowing at the uneven dirt, "Huh."

Amelia turns her head, her curiosity sparking as she sees a small area just a few feet away, one where it seemed the rest of the broken parts had been stored, accompanied with what seemed like a vacant area. It was pitch black but a part of her thinks it isn't as empty as it looks.

"I'll take a look over there," she mumbles, to no one in particular. Kiara hums though she turns her back as she rummages through the same area she had gone through.

Perhaps, walking along towards a dark, abandoned portion of this wreck was a bad idea but Amelia likes to believe that the nagging voice in her head was only there to stop her from having fun - though, in all honesty, it's probably there to prevent her from death itself. Amelia ignores it, as she always did when venturing into the unknown.

Amelia steps over the thick rubbish, hissing when she feels her foot bend oddly after stepping on uneven ground. She rolls her ankle as she walks, shaking away the shivers that run-up to her spine. Amelia glances at her watch, taking note of the time before she walks into the odd structure.

Looking from the outside, the structure took on the same architecture that any ordinary warehouse had. Though, it was nowhere as clean and polished as the other buildings near it considering the sides of the warehouse were either rusted or beyond repair. Some of the walls had been peeling off, other portions seemed it would collapse in mere minutes. The windows were practically non-existent as all the glass had been shattered, the sharp remains standing tall on the edges while the rest laid on the floor.

The front of the structure itself was wide open, no door, no wall either, just an open entrance that was most probably on the brink of falling. It was obvious that this abandoned warehouse was no recent event either considering the grass had started to grow tall against the edges and nature itself was starting to take over the remaining walls.

Amelia swallowed a knot - this was literally a hazard. Chipped walls, weakened beams, broken glass scattered on the grass-covered floors; she was pretty much asking for a disaster at this point.

However, even if she wanted to turn around and pretend what she had observed was nothing but her imagination she'd feel as though she'd be tainting her own detective status.

Now, what kind of detective would she be if she just ignored this whole thing?

Amelia let out a low groan as she maneuvers around the metal railings on the floor, stabilizing herself with every step because the last thing she wants is to fall on a metal pole and get killed by it. Not only is that going to be pretty painful but it's embarrassing.

_What kind of headline would that be? Detective Amelia Watson dies falling on a pole._

_If I were to die, I'd rather get killed by something cooler than that._

"They'd probably get mad if I say that out loud," Amelia mutters. She takes in a deep breath as she fully enters the warehouse. It was dark, extremely dark. Although her eyes had practically adjusted to the darkness considering it was late at night, Amelia still couldn't make out the shapes and objects hidden way too far from her reach.

Each and every corner was draped in shadows, filled with a black void that Amelia doesn't bother thinking of investigating.

She walks around, at an ample pace. Amelia kneels over one of the ship parts stuffed into the warehouse, dragging her finger against the rusty material. She sighs as she blows away the bundle of dust on her finger, coughing soon after when the rest of the dust on the metal had flown with her breath.

"Agh, it smells like shit in here," Amelia swallows an incoming gag reflex as she pushes herself up. She takes one last look before turning her on her heel, not wanting to let the rest of her negative thoughts plague her mind.

The rest of the area was as empty as it was dark so Amelia figures she doesn't need to observe the area thoroughly - or perhaps that was her excuse to get away from being trampled by a loose beam.

She pushes away one small metal part, grunting as she forces it to the side. Amelia lets out heavy breaths as she struggles against the weight of it, "Goodness, and here I thought-!"

Amelia feels something wrap around her waist and the grip was so tight she sees white spots cloud her vision and her breath leaves her lips. In mere seconds, she feels her stomach churn, and the world was suddenly spinning around her, Amelia only has a few seconds of processing the feeling of her blood run down to the very tips of her head before feeling her back slam against the warehouse halls.

She lets out a harsh cough as she feels the cold metal slam into her spine before falling face-first onto the dirt floor. Amelia grunts as she struggles against her elbows, slowly prepping herself from her position but all she feels is the ache in her back and the surrounding ache around her waist.

Amelia hisses when she flips to her back, the cold dirt and the little remains of the warehouse floor both brushing against her shirt did nothing to mend the aching pain. She steadies her breathing while trying to process what hell just happened to her once silent investigation.

Her hands press against her waist, rubbing the area where she felt something wrap around it so tightly.

The moment where she feels her body slowly regains its nerves Amelia feels something - or more like _someone_ \- land right on her stomach.

Amelia lets out a mix of a hiss and a grunt and she feels every muscle scream. Despite the adrenaline practically surging through her veins at this point, Amelia feels her energy leave her body as she feels cold hands wrap around her neck, the grip tightening slightly enough to make Amelia struggle against it.

She removes her eyes from the comfort of the dirt and glances at her hands, internally groaning when she sees a foot pinning it down. A foot with what seemed like a slipper that had heels - Amelia doesn't care to fully study the brand or appearance of it.

Amelia gasps slightly as she breathes through the tight grip around her neck, her eyes slowly drawing to the stranger who seemed the most likely to have grabbed her by the waist and threw her to the wall.

She feels no malice but she does feel a bit _irritated_.

 _Maybe I jinxed myself._ Amelia thinks to herself.

"I'm-" Amelia grunts, "Ho-How about we ta-?" Amelia fully turns her head to the stranger, her eyes laying straight on their face.

She doesn't know whether to panic or to be in awe.

Straddling her waist was a woman. A beautiful woman.

The moonlight that poured into the warehouse had engulfed the woman's face, reflecting against her porcelain skin that was similar to that of a doll. Dark raven hair ran down the woman's slender shoulders, brushing against her arms and down to her waist - her bangs messily stuck to her forehead. There was a strange golden crown pinned just above her bangs, 5 diamonds that seemed solid against her head.

Amelia gulped as she met the woman's eyes - they were dark ocean blue. Gorgeously reflecting the moon that had poured into their field, and as beautiful as they looked, shining brightly against the contrasting pitch-black void of the abandoned warehouse - Amelia could see the anguish hidden beneath those irises.

Pushed beneath that stoic expression, burned something more, something far more than the blunt expression on her face. And-

_And Amelia feels like she's seen it before._

And it seems she isn't the only one.

The moment they meet eyes, Amelia feels her breath catch to her lungs as the tight grip around her neck loosens but still, she catches the way the woman's eyes widen at her.

Almost out of shock.

Amelia opens her mouth to say something, but whatever it was is caught just at her tongue - her thoughts trailing to a stop as she feels every noise and word fall beneath her.

_What was I going to say?_

She sees the woman's face immediately return to its stoic expression, her eyebrows relaxing against her forehead and her eyes seemed to revert into one of the same expression - devoid of all emotion.

Amelia was impressed. This woman seems like a master at hiding her thoughts.

The woman's hands - Amelia sees that they were hidden by what seemed like black leather gloves; no wonder it was cold - retract from the detective's neck. It was slow but Amelia senses no hesitation from pulling away.

Amelia opens her mouth - ignoring the small sting that shot up her spine as she pushed herself up against her elbows - "Is it alright if I ask you a few questions?" Her voice was slightly meek and Amelia feels herself cringing at her own voice.

The stranger slowly looks back at her, her bangs tickled her eyelashes as her eyes were just as blunt as they were before and her lips were in a thin line as if studying Amelia. The detective doesn't point it out but instead says, "I won't report you to the police for-" Amelia stops herself from saying _attacking_ considering she might anger the other girl, "-um, tackling me. I just need you to answer a few questions for me."

Amelia gulps and despite the weather being chilly at the dead of midnight, she feels her hands sweat against the dirt as the woman only stares at her. She doesn't answer, doesn't even make the effort to open her mouth - just looks at Amelia.

"Hello?" Amelia tilts her head and she figures that the woman was indeed listening since she had echoed Amelia's action, similarly tilting her head.

_That's kinda cute._

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Amelia says softly, "Just need some answer-"

"Ame! Ame! You there!" Amelia winces at the echo of Kiara's voice, shivering when she hears it bouncing against the old warehouse walls and back at her.

Amelia twists her body towards the entrance, opening her mouth as she answers - but she holds back when she feels the weight on her waist suddenly disappear, the warmth fading as soon as it stayed. She reacts quickly enough as she fights against the aching burn of her, probably, bruised bones.

She reaches out and wraps her fingers around the woman's wrist, almost pulling her back slightly, "Wait- I still need you to-"

Amelia squeaks as the woman snatches her wrist away from her touch, a flash of terror ran across the woman's face as if she was afraid of Amelia's hand - though just like beforehand, her face was quick enough to mask that terror.

Amelia bows her head slightly, muttering a quick apology, "Listen, those are just my friends - they aren't going to hurt you, they'd probably want the same thing. Oh, and I won't tell them what happened between us, it'll be our little secret, you know?"

The woman stares back at her and Amelia can't help but feel that perhaps the woman was expecting her to add something to that. Perhaps the woman wanted Amelia to say something else though she isn't quite sure considering her face was hard to decipher to its core.

Amelia opens her mouth to say something else, hoping to convince her, but her efforts are wasted when she hears footsteps headed towards her position. 

The woman hears it as well and spares Amelia one last glance before running into the pitch-black shadows, the small frame of her back being swallowed by the dark.

Amelia, for a short while, feels herself longing.

It was an odd yet familiar feeling.

Like she's felt this way before.

Amelia sighs, stretching out her arms and she winces when she hears her back crack at rather loud levels.

"Hey, Watson!"

She sighs, turning around with a tired look expressed on her face, "Sup."

Gura breathes out, and it seems she's been holding onto that breath for quite a while, "Sup? Really, dude? Kiara and I thought you got ambushed or something."

 _Well, that isn't quite far from the truth_. Amelia wants to say.

Kiara nods, "You shouldn't go off on your own!"

Amelia chuckles, waving their questions off, "I'm fine! I'm fine! And what am I? A child? I can assure you I can handle myself just fine when the time forces it," she smiles.

"Sure, sure, maybe ask one of us to go with you next time? Kiara here almost had a heart attack," Gura crosses her arms, shaking her head as a parent does to a child at fault.

Kiara raises an eyebrow, "Excuse me? You're acting like you weren't just about to summon your damn trident," she huffs.

"But I _didn't_ ," Gura argues back though Amelia knows it was her own retaliation judging by the way her cheeks flushed a faint red.

Amelia laughs at the two, "I'm fine, you two don't need to worry about me," she runs her fingers through the roots of her hair, hoping to get rid of any dirt after being tackled onto the floor.

Gura nods knowingly and peeks behind her, "Have you seen anyone here?"

Amelia catches herself from freezing. She runs through the quick dilemma of whether or not to inform her two other companions about the encounter she just had with a woman - she decides against it. "Nope, just an empty warehouse, why?"

"Nothin," Gura hums, "On the docks, there was some dirt that looked freshly tampered with so I thought you might have seen someone."

"Really? Well, thankfully there was no one," Amelia grins at Gura, one that was dopey and very much like how Amelia would start teasing her, "Oh? I see you're using your detective skills, eh Gawr Gura?"

Gura shrugs, a prideful smile on her face, "Eh, what can I say? I'm an apex predator after all!"

Kiara snickers, "Sure you are," she says, as she pats the shorter's girls head.

"I'm gonna pretend that you actually mean that," Gura walks ahead, ignoring the way Kiara hums at her, muttering a _totally, totally, of course, you're an apex predator_.

Amelia watches as the two retreats, stepping cautiously over the stray metal parts. She smiles fondly at the two, seeing the way their own playful banter seems to be one of the many pillars to their dynamic.

Turning around, Amelia's smile fades. Although it's hard to explain, she feels oddly empty.

Seeing the way the woman's back is swallowed by the warehouse's shadows made Amelia feel, well, oddly enough, _guilty_.

It's almost as if this has happened before.

Like she had failed to grab that woman's hand before.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> if you ever wanna talk or just say hello i'm @inochiijo on twitter


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